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While Apple and Facebook are partners in many ways and don't directly compete on any fronts, the social networker has just dethroned the Mac maker in an important way: CEO approval ratings.

Career site Glassdoor has just released its annual survey of employee approval ratings of major companies, and Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg has shot up to claim the No. 1 spot. Zuckerberg earned a whopping 99% approval rating among professional Facebookers. Apple's Tim Cook earned a 93% approval rating, down from 97% last year.

Other notable tech mentions in the 2013 rankings were Qualcomm's Paul Jacobs and Google's Larry Page, both of whom got thumbs up ratings from 95% of respondents. NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang wasn't far behind, with 94% of employees backing him.

CEO / Company

2012 Approval Rating

2012 Rank

2013 Approval Rating

2013 Rank

Mark Zuckerberg / Facebook

N/A

N/A

99%

1

Paul Jacobs / Qualcomm

95%

3

95%

8

Larry Page / Google

94%

5

95%

11

Jen-Hsun Huang / NVIDIA

N/A

N/A

94%

15

Tim Cook / Apple

97%

1

93%

18

Source: Glassdoor. N/A = not available because CEO did not rank in top 25 for 2012.

The rankings have tightened as employee approval ratings climbed. Even though Larry Page earned a higher rating in 2013, Google's overall ranking fell from No. 5 to No. 11 this year. The same is true for Paul Jacobs, since Qualcomm's ranking also fell even though the CEO kept the same approval rating.

Neither Facebook nor NVIDIA ranked within the top 25 last year, but now the CEOs of both companies have jumped to earn respectable 2013 rankings. NVIDIA has increased its competitive pressure on Qualcomm over the past year, and employees seem to support Huang's strategic advances. Tim Cook appears to be losing support from employees, even though investors should still believe in him.

Cook aside, is Apple still a buy? The Motley Fool's senior technology analyst and managing bureau chief, Eric Bleeker, is prepared to fill you in on both reasons to buy and reasons to sell Apple, and what opportunities are left for the company (and your portfolio) going forward. To get instant access to his latest thinking on Apple, simply click here now.

Fool contributor Evan Niu, CFA, owns shares of Apple and Qualcomm. The Motley Fool recommends Apple, Facebook, Google, and NVIDIA. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple, Facebook, Google, and Qualcomm. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.